


Are You Thorny, Baby?

by homosociallyyours



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Louis is a good older brother, M/M, Puns & Word Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 20:57:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16415816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homosociallyyours/pseuds/homosociallyyours
Summary: When Louis stops in to buy flowers for Lottie’s birthday, he thinks he’s just stumbled upon a hip flower shop. Meeting Harry is just a bonus.





	Are You Thorny, Baby?

**Author's Note:**

> I love a pun, ok? And I love a meme, too. I think Harry and I have that in common. 
> 
> Many thanks to [statementlou](http://statementlou.tumblr.com), without whom this fic would not have happened. It was born out of one of our late night hangouts where we laugh and joke, and the shared idea was just too good not to keep going with. Sometimes those exchanges end there, but she asked me to write it and I did. I couldn't have done it without her. Great beta, collaborator, and friend.

Louis had forgotten his sister’s birthday, and that was very much not alright. He hadn’t forgotten it altogether, fortunately. He happened to remember just before leaving work, and sent her a text telling her happy birthday and asking what her plans were. She called him back immediately, and he picked up on the first ring. 

“Happy birthday, Lots! How’s your day been?” 

“Terrible,” Lottie said, her voice a bit too loud and tinged with frustration. “My stupid boyfriend has concert tickets and didn’t even mention it til this morning, and when I told him it was my birthday he just stared at me! Didn’t invite me along or offer to change his plans or ask what I had on for tonight.” 

“Shit, that’s awful. What did you do?” 

“Well, we got in a massive fight and I told him to stay at his for the rest of the week. And then he left without another word.” Lottie’s voice went quiet. “It’s still pretty new, y’know? I shouldn’t have pushed him like that, s’just--” 

Louis couldn’t stand to hear his sister getting upset like that. “No, no, he’s the fuck up here, love. You told him it was your birthday, yeah? Even if he’d forgot he could still tell you happy birthday and try to make it up to you.” That was what Louis had done, after all. Well. He hadn’t made it up to her quite yet. “Alright, well I’m taking you out tonight. That place you love that’s too posh to go to all the time, the one we went to when we were celebrating my new job?” 

Lottie squealed into the phone and Louis pulled away from it instinctively. “Have I told you lately what a good brother you are?” Louis couldn’t help but smile at the compliment. 

“I don’t mind hearing it, but not today. It’s your day. So, 8 o’clock? See if Fizzy wants to come too, we’ll make an older sibling night of it, yeah?” Louis checked his watch and saw it was after 5 already. He’d have no time to get Lottie a proper present. Shit. 

“Perfect, Louis. Thank you.” Lottie sounded so genuinely pleased that Louis couldn’t help but smile. “See you in a few hours. And wear something you can go dancing in. We’re definitely going out after dinner.” 

After fighting traffic to get home and taking a reasonable amount of time to get showered and dressed for the night, it was nearly 7 and he needed to drive to the restaurant and try to pick something up for Lottie, even if it was just a token. He’d stop off somewhere. 

A flower shop wasn’t his first choice-- they were going out dancing after dinner --but when he saw the neon sign flashing to life ahead of him with its bloomed rose next to the artfully scrolled word “Thorny,” he decided it was worth pulling over. He pushed open the door to the shop and was immediately struck by the interior. The shop had a glam rock vibe, with gold wallpaper on the walls and plush velvet artfully hung behind a few flower displays to make the colorful blossoms pop. A slick black leather settee was curved against a back wall, a small coffee table in front of it holding an open display book of some of the shop’s work. If Louis was going to get Lottie flowers, at least he’d come some place hip. 

“Out in a minute, sorry,” a voice called from the back of the shop. 

“Yeah, no hurry,” Louis said back, even though he was in a bit of a hurry if he was honest. No use in being a dick about it. He took his time looking at some of the flowers that were arranged around the shop and quickly realized that he didn’t really recognize most of them. And for a shop called Thorny, they didn’t seem to have an abundance of roses. 

“Thank you for waiting,” the voice from earlier said from the other room. The man who matched the voice finally stepped out from the back, pulling his long hair up into a messy bun as he looked around for Louis. “How can I help you?” 

Louis’ first thought was an absolutely filthy response that made him cough to cover the thought before it could fall out of his mouth. “Um. Flowers, I guess,” he said instead. Not dirty at all, but not terribly smooth either, he thought. It’d really been a while since he’d proper flirted with someone. 

“I’ve got those,” the man said, a grin spreading over his face that made a dimple pop out on his cheek. “Who are they for? Mum? Girlfriend? Boyfriend?” 

“Sister,” Louis answered. “It’s her birthday, and she’s had a shit day. I’m taking her out to dinner, but I wanted to get her something else.” He smiled back at the man, trying not to be too obvious in how interested he was. 

“Ah. Have a picture?” 

“Of my sister? Yeah, let me, um--” Louis pulled out his phone and went to Lottie’s instagram, knowing she’d have a million selfies there for him to choose from. “She’s a makeup artist, stylist, really cool girl. This place looked about right when I drove by, so I had to stop.” 

“Sick hair! I’d dye mine, but I worry I’d hate it,” the man said, touching his curls gently. 

“You’ve got tattoos all over, but you’re worried about a bit of dye in your hair? Really, mate?” 

“Heyyy. You’re not supposed to call out a stranger like that. Especially not one who’s giving you gift advice for your much hipper sister.” 

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m Louis. And you’re?” 

“Harry. I own the shop.” He smiled and held out his hand for Louis to shake, and Louis took it, hoping his expression didn’t betray the thought that was running through his head, which was something along the lines of sirens blaring as the words “BIG HANDS” were shouted out by every voice in his brain. 

“Well, Harry. Now that we’re not strangers, I don’t think you should dye your hair, but you’ve got to admit it’s a silly thing to be afraid of when you’ve made so many permanent changes to your body.” Louis gave him a quick once over and cocked an eyebrow, holding back the cheeky grin that was threatening to take over his face. 

“And you haven’t even seen them all yet,” Harry said in return, mirroring Louis’ expression. It was entirely too much. Louis cleared his throat and looked away, hoping he wasn’t blushing. 

“So, um. Flowers? You’ve got a few of those too.” Louis turned his head slowly from side to side. “Have I seen all of them?”

“Would you like to?” Harry asked, leaning against the counter that was behind him. Louis looked up at him and saw he was still wearing a playful smirk, flirting with absolutely no shame. Unfortunately there was a clock directly behind him and it was already half 7. If he didn’t buy something and get to the restaurant, Lottie might beat him there and start out the night annoyed, which he didn’t want. 

Harry must’ve seen his faraway look, as he quickly straightened up and cleared his throat. “Right, um, sorry,” he said, turning a small half circle and looking anywhere but at Louis. “There’s loads of flowers that should work, but I think these might be pretty cool for her.” He crossed the room and grabbed a vase of fuzzy flowers that looked a bit like coral and brought it over, setting it on the counter softly and then pulling a few other vases of blooms together hurriedly. 

Louis watched him work, admiring how quick he was and how his eye seemed to catch upon exactly the right flower to grab next. Without either of them talking, Louis realized he could hear music playing from the back of the shop. “You’re listening to Kate Bush?” he asked without thinking. 

A blush spread over Harry’s cheeks and Louis thought about how pretty it was. “Yeah, she’s a favorite of mine. Intense, weird, passionate. She’s pretty amazing.” Louis smiled at Harry though he wasn’t looking up to see it. 

“Absolutely. Didn’t know what to think when I first heard her, but the more I listened the more I wanted to listen.” Louis watched as Harry finished gathering the flowers into a bouquet, wrapping them up in a shiny black paper and tying them with piece of contrasting ribbon. “Could watch you do that all day, Harry. It’s really cool.” 

“That right?” Harry said, glancing up to meet Louis’ eyes. 

“Yeah,” Louis nodded. “If you’re game.” 

“Could be,” Harry said, turning away with a smile. Louis pulled out his wallet to pay and grabbed a business card from the pocket. 

“Bottom number’s my mobile, if you’d like.” He said, not bothering to see how much he was charged for the flowers as he paid. His sister was worth it, and apparently he was getting a date in the process. Louis took the flowers, shaking Harry’s hand one more time. “Really good to meet you, Harry. Look forward to seeing you soon, I hope.” 

“Yeah, think so,” Harry said, smiling hard enough that his dimple made another appearance. Louis made a run for it before he asked to dive in. 

Lottie loved the flowers, and when Louis gave them to her she immediately guessed where they’d come from. “Was it that shop over on Maine? What’s it called, “Hold My Flower” or something like that? All pink inside?” 

“It was on Maine, yeah, but the place was called “Thorny.” Sort of glam rock, gold and black, that kind of thing. Maybe the name changed? Or it’s a different owner?” 

Fizzy rolled her eyes slightly. “Sounds like the same owner,” she smirked. Louis gave her a questioning look, and she looked down at her phone, smiling to herself as she said, “nevermind. It’s the same owner, though. I’m pretty sure.” 

“Well wherever they’re from, they’re gorgeous.” Lottie ended up taking a multitude of selfies with her bouquet and even tagged the shop in an instagram story she made holding up the flowers and taking a video of Louis and Fizzy raising a glass of champagne up in her honor. They absolutely feasted at the restaurant, Louis once again handing over his card and not looking at the bill. Lottie smiled at him when she saw him cover it, mouthing a “thank you” to him from across the table. He shrugged, smiling back at her. She was absolutely worth it. 

Fortunately, Louis’ generosity paid off in the form of not having to go out dancing with his younger sisters. As much as he loved them, the idea of babysitting them at a club-- making sure they drank enough water and stuck together and didn’t talk to anyone he might not approve of --wasn’t really top on his list. He made them promise to call when they were leaving and when they’d both gotten home, and though they teased him for it as he left they followed through, both texting as they left the club and ringing him when they got to their respective homes. 

He woke up the next morning to a text from Harry and a screenshot of Lottie’s instagram story with a little heart drawn over it. From there, they dove into texting as though they’d been doing it for ages, teasing each other and making jokes even as they learned all the basics of one another’s lives. A few days later, they had their first date, and then another after that and another and another until they’d been seeing one another for nearly a year. Louis was considering moving into Harry’s flat, which was located right above his shop. The location was about the same distance to his work and only a bit farther from his sisters than he was now. The only real issue was that the space was tighter than he’d like, though he and Harry had never really had problems sharing it. 

They were talking about it one night over dinner, Louis weighing the pros and cons aloud, when Harry interrupted them. “Y’know, I’ve always been surprised that the name didn’t bother you. Kinda thought you’d have said it was a con, even.” 

“What? The shop name? I mean maybe the sign’s a bit much, with the neon or whatever, but it gets turned off at night, and Thorny really isn’t that bad, is it?” Louis looked up from taking a bite of food to see Harry covering his mouth, his eyes wide with mirth. 

“That’s not the whole name, Lou,” he managed to say, barely holding back a laugh. 

“What do you mean, it’s not the whole name? The sign says Thorny. That’s the name. Thorny.” 

“Where are we, though? Like. What’s,” Harry giggled, biting his lip to stop himself. “What’s the address?” 

“21 Maine Road” Louis said matter-of-factly. Harry looked as though he was about to fall apart. 

“So the shop. It’s Thorny. And what street is it on?” 

“Thorny, on Maine,” Louis said with a huff. Harry burst out laughing immediately, and Louis simply stared back at him, not understanding what was so funny. 

“Thorny on Maine!” Harry wheezed. “It’s still so good. Much better than ‘Hold My Flower’ even if I did love the logo I came up with for that one.” 

When Louis still didn’t understand, Harry pulled out his phone and explained exactly what a meme was and how a pun of it was the funniest joke a person could possibly make. The fact that Louis moved in with him in spite of this should tell you everything you need to know. They really were in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! So. There really is a Maine Road in Manchester, but it's certainly not the hip little street I'm hoping you imagined while reading this. I'd apologize, but honestly I'll do anything in the name of a horrible (excellent) pun and really, Thorny on Maine? I couldn't help it. Harry wouldn't be able to either. 
> 
> If you liked this fic, please consider leaving a comment/kudos and reblogging the [fic post](http://homosociallyyours.tumblr.com/post/179448597109/are-you-thorny-baby-by-homosociallyyours-2k)! And as always, you can come [say hi on tumblr](http://homosociallyyours.tumblr.com) if you'd like.


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